Tuesday, January 15, 2008

TALLIL — One of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) largest projects in Iraq is 76 percent complete and is on track for construction to finish this summer, according to the Gulf Region South district commander, Col. Stephen Hill.

The Basrah Children’s Hospital will be a state-of-the-art acute and referral care hospital that focuses on pediatric oncology. The 19,800 square meter complex includes a 94-bed main hospital building, two utility buildings, warehouse, oxygen plant, steam autoclave building, and a 36-bed residence hall. The two-story hospital building includes two operating rooms, two special procedure rooms, emergency room, specialty clinics, pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit, dental suite, and training classrooms.

“This project is one of the largest in Iraq,” Hill said. “It’s a multi-national support system focusing on one goal and that is to provide this hospital for the children of Basrah and Iraq.”

The international community has focused on the hospital and its importance to Iraq because of the infant mortality rate in the region, which currently stands at 13 percent, one of the highest in the world. The structure boasts a multi-national coalition behind its construction, according to Hill.

The project is funded through multiple sources, including the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund; Project HOPE; and the Spanish government through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). ...